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So far Game has created 333 blog entries.

My Comeback Chronicles #3- The Preparation

Ok kids, I riddle you this? What can be against you, but yet on your side?…………TIME!!

Good conscience, Bad timing…Tick…Tock…
Sometimes “life be lifing” too hard and you can’t get anything done or at least the way you want to. A couple weeks ago I had the unfortunate experience of having to come to the aid of a long time acquaintance who fell on hard times. Having been through something similar, dimentia, with my mom, eldercare can be time consuming and emotionally draining. Note to self do not get old and do not get old alone. Lets just say the safety net of social security, has lots of holes in it. Today’s system for eldercare is ridiculous to say the least and woefully inadequate for most, so I’ll say less. My advice save your money, lots of it, be nice to people, don’t break relationships,  fix them with your family and friends. To be old, broke and alone is tragic.
Side thought- Is it true humanity if good deeds are only done when its convenient?
Anyway… I’m not sure I’ve gotten everything in I’d hope too to be completely prepared. I have had basically three weeks. The last 7-10 days prior […]
My Comeback Chronicles #3- The Preparation2025-03-24T19:26:40-07:00

My Comeback Chronicles #2-It’s The Shoes…hmmm

This blog post is dedicated to my father John Thigpen, who when he came to a meet proudly and affectionately used to call me “twinkle toes,” unfortunately at times a little too loudly and in front of the wrong company………………..gee,..thanks dad.

Some of you are old enough to remember an early Nike JORDANS commercial staring Spike Lee, where concerning Mike’s greatness he says; “It’s the shoes”.
Well, I never bought into it, I’ve never even owned a pair of Jordan’s (don’t take my black card). Honestly, I couldn’t afford them until my thirties and never saw the use of spending $300 on shoes I wasn’t gonna play basketball in. My money was gonna be wasted on more productive vices, like video games!!!
Recently I made a bet with myself that if I won Nationals I would treat myself to some of those “newfangled” “carbon fiber super spikes”. I’d been intrigued by them over the past year and spent way too much screen time down the “rabbit hole” researching them….what’s up.doc?
I’d heard the claims and noticed almost every one at Nationals were wearing some brand or another. So I spoke with a few guys and even got […]
My Comeback Chronicles #2-It’s The Shoes…hmmm2025-03-24T19:18:36-07:00

My Comeback Chronicles: A long road back just for a short sprint

I’ve been able to run as far back as I can remember. Instead of walking my first steps, I probably ran. I’ve been fast but not always the fastest, so I’ve had to fight to win, fight to train and fight to compete, but I’ve never had to fight my body..and this fight back to the track has taken three years….and I’m not sure it’s quite finished..here’s hoping it is .
Even though we live in a society that celebrates rugged individualism and social media that loves to demonstrate our uniqueness. I believe, on the contrary, that we are not as special or unique as we think. We are closer to being the same just different iterations, more likely sharing similar or the same life experiences at one point or another. So I try to navigate in this way with the belief that something I may be going through is more likely than not something someone else has, is, or will be experiencing. So I share this story to maybe help some one else work through the same or a similar trial in their life. I hope it helps.
By now most who know me can safely say I’m not an open […]
My Comeback Chronicles: A long road back just for a short sprint2025-03-24T19:12:15-07:00

Maximizing Playing Time in High School Baseball: A Comprehensive Guide

Maximizing Playing Time in High School Baseball: A Comprehensive Guide

For high school athletes who have successfully made the baseball team, the next challenge is to earn and maximize playing time. Coach Eric Johnson and Aaron delve into insightful strategies and tips in their podcast, emphasizing the importance of consistency, mindset, and continuous improvement throughout the season.

Understanding the Key Points
Making the Team is Just the Beginning
Every Rep Counts: Treat Practice like a Game
Knowing Your Role and Being Ready for Opportunities
The Evolution of an Athlete: Freshman, JV, and Varsity Levels
Adding Value to the Team: Offensively, Defensively, and Motivationally
Patience and Perspective: Trusting the Process
Overcoming Unrealistic Expectations and Mental Challenges
Earning Playing Time Throughout the Season
Freshman Year
First Impressions: Make an impact during scrimmages and early practices.
Trust Your Preparation: Stay confident and trust the work put in during the off-season.
JV Level
Prove Yourself: Show growth and improvement from the previous year.
Consistency is Key: Demonstrate that you deserve playing time through your performance.
Varsity Level
Make an Impression: Introduce yourself to the varsity coach effectively.
Competing for Opportunities: Be prepared to compete with more experienced players.
Maintaining a Positive Attitude and Work Ethic
Contributing to the Team: Find ways to add value consistently.
Staying Patient: Results take time to show; trust the process and […]

Maximizing Playing Time in High School Baseball: A Comprehensive Guide2024-05-13T22:47:57-07:00

Turning Setbacks into Opportunities: What to Do When You Don’t Make the Team

Turning Setbacks into Opportunities: What to Do When You Don’t Make the Team

In the world of sports, not making the team can be a tough pill to swallow. However, Coach Eric Johnson and his co-host delve into the silver lining of being cut from a team and how it can actually propel athletes to greater success. Let’s explore the key takeaways from their insightful podcast.

Embracing Rejection: A Path to Improvement

Learning and Reinventing
Learn from Feedback: Engage with the coach to understand why you were cut and what areas need improvement.
Reinvent Yourself: Use the setback as motivation to show significant improvement for the next opportunity.

Preparation for Success
Ready for Prime Time: View the extra time as a chance to prepare intensively for future opportunities.
Maximize Training: Focus on training to excel, especially when aiming to be scouted by college programs.

Cultivating a Winning Mindset
Harnessing Motivation
Fuel Your Fire: Let the rejection fuel your determination to prove yourself.
Develop Resilience: Use setbacks as a catalyst for becoming a better, more resilient athlete.

Competitive Mindset
Earn Your Spot: Understand that competitive sports require continuous effort and improvement to secure your place.
Annual Challenges: Scholarships are on a yearly basis, emphasizing the need for ongoing dedication and performance.
Looking Ahead: Webinar and Resources

In conclusion, […]

Turning Setbacks into Opportunities: What to Do When You Don’t Make the Team2024-05-13T22:40:42-07:00

Unlocking the Path to Athletic Success: Overcoming the Pack Mentality Embracing Individuality in Sports

Unlocking the Path to Athletic Success: Overcoming the Pack Mentality
Embracing Individuality in Sports

In the world of sports, it’s easy to get caught up in the “pack mentality” – a tendency to follow the crowd, blindly adopting the same training programs, coaches, and strategies as everyone else. However, as Coach Eric Johnson and Coach Aaron discuss, this approach can be detrimental to an athlete’s growth and ultimate success.

The Dangers of Conformity

The coaches emphasize that the pack mentality can stifle an athlete’s individuality, creativity, and personal development. They argue that true success often comes from stepping outside the box and finding the path that works best for the individual, rather than simply following the crowd.

“If you’re with the pack, expect to be with the pack.” – Coach Eric Johnson

Developing Goals and Aspirations

One of the key issues the coaches identify is the lack of clear goals and aspirations among many athletes. They believe that without a strong sense of what they want to achieve, athletes are more likely to fall into the trap of the pack mentality, simply going along with what everyone else is doing.

“What’s wrong with aspiring to greatness? You have to shoot for something.” – Coach Aaron

Collaboration and Empowerment

The coaches […]

Unlocking the Path to Athletic Success: Overcoming the Pack Mentality Embracing Individuality in Sports2024-05-13T22:57:05-07:00

Unlocking Athlete Confidence: Strategies for Coaches and Parents Identifying the Confidence Challenge

Unlocking Athlete Confidence: Strategies for Coaches and Parents
Identifying the Confidence Challenge

In the world of sports, confidence is a crucial element that can make or break an athlete’s performance. As coaches EJ and Aaron discuss in this podcast, many athletes struggle with maintaining a strong sense of self-belief, especially when faced with adversity or challenging situations.

The underlying reasons for this lack of confidence are multifaceted. As Aaron points out, some athletes may have inherently lower levels of confidence due to their personal experiences and family backgrounds. Additionally, the environment in which young athletes are often placed, with participation trophies and a lack of emphasis on honest feedback, can contribute to a false sense of confidence that crumbles when faced with the harsh realities of competition.

Fostering Honest and Constructive Environments

The coaches emphasize the importance of creating an environment that fosters genuine, honest confidence in athletes. This means providing clear and constructive feedback, both positive and negative, to help athletes understand their strengths and areas for improvement. As EJ notes, the key is to build athletes up, not break them down, by offering solutions and a clear path forward.

“You’re trying to uplift. And I think the keyword that you said after honesty is […]

Unlocking Athlete Confidence: Strategies for Coaches and Parents Identifying the Confidence Challenge2024-05-13T22:42:38-07:00

Knee Protection- A Season Long Activity

By Aaron Thigpen

November, 2021

Performance Coach, Gamespeed

One of the most devastating injury’s an athlete can have is a knee injury. However, thanks to advances in medical science  what once was  career ending, most athletes now fully recover from. In addition to medical advances the strides made in performance training have helped to reduce the severity and number of knee injuries. Unfortunately, most training programs don’t apply this valuable knowledge into the daily regiments of athletes. Most are used post injury during rehab or as pre season prep work. Protecting your knees is a regular season long activity. Try supplementing your routines with some of these valuable exercises.

  • Lower leg/ foot exercises – Ankle walks, calf raises and the like provide the foot strength and ankle mobility that can absorb the forces that travel up the kinetic chain that can cause a knee injury.
  • Cutting, jumping exercises – Simple two footed and single footed jumping, cutting, starting, decelerating and stopping can provide the critical foot to ground contact awareness (proprioceptive) that can teach athletes how to move their bodies safely.
  • Stability exercises – Single and two footed exercises on unstable or uneven surfaces can strengthen the kinetic chains response to unpredictable movements.

Pepper […]

Knee Protection- A Season Long Activity2021-11-10T13:23:24-08:00

Water Work Outs – Come On In the Water’s Fine

October 2021

By Aaron Thigpen, Gamespeed

You gotta be wondering, I play a land based sport, why would he be talking about pool workouts? Well pool workouts are valuable to all athletes.  For most athletes, you don’t even need to have an Olympic size pool. There are a variety of exercises that can be performed to give you the perfect workout for your sport.

Benefits of Pool Workouts

  • General overall conditioning – aerobic, anaerobic, strength.
  • Non weight bearing in nature reduces wear and tear on joints.
  • Water provides enough resistance for motor learning and patterning for those recovering from injury.
  • Builds connective tissue strength.
  • Active recovery & regeneration.
  • Variety- Can use implements such as dumbbells, resistance cords, medicine ball, kettlebells
  • Can apply some sport specific movements. (swinging a bat, throwing, dribbling).

Try this shallow water workout

Three minute easy swim mixed strokes or dog paddle (warmup)

3-4 Sets of:

Rest 30-60 sec between exercises and 2-3 min between sets.

30 sec Hi Knee Run

20 x Alt Arm Raise Side/Front

20 x Tuck Jump

30 sec Wall scissor kick

40 x Running Arm Swing

20 x Split Jumps

Three minute easy swim mixed strokes or dog paddle (warm down)

Not just for  H2O athletes, mix in some water workouts weekly to […]

Water Work Outs – Come On In the Water’s Fine2021-12-17T13:42:40-08:00

Gym Hours

Gym Hours

Monday 4-7pm

Tuesday 4-7pm

Wednesday 4-7pm

Thursday 4-7pm

Friday & Saturday Closed

Sunday 9-11am

One to One by appointment

 

 

 

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